St. Landry democrat., 1887-03-26
and whisper a word or two TO her aunt.

ana Whisper word or two TO her aunt.
"No whispering, ! think-no con-
fdences Just vet" SAYS DR.. Thesby. rub
blng his hands. "Inougn / agree
you, my dear lady, that no time should
be lost about seeing into this-er-truly
extraordinary affair. What dye say, my
good woman" turning sharply to one OF
| the maids.
| "a handkerchief, eh, Picked up by
you? Lying on Miss Grey's face-or
partly soe eh2 ehs Think what you are
saying now, my good girl, as / dare say
you will have to repeat it pretty often
| later on"
Yes. The girl had picked it up when
first she stopped over Miss Grey. 1t
was not exactly on her face, but looked
as if it had slipped off it.
| The doctor, folding it neatly, puts it in
his breast pocket. Important evidence,
madame! If you will permit me, will
take charge of it. Heavily saturated
| with chloroform | should say, from the
| strength of the aroma that still clings to
| it."
| ''Let me see it, says Millicent sud
denly, in a voice SO much stronger and
with such excitement on her pale face
| that the doctor thinks it better to accede
| to her request, while still entreating her
| to ''Be calln!-be calm. and above all
| things to be calm.'
'As if" said Millicent afterward to
! Nadine, ANY one could be expected to
be calm who had just escaped being muir
dered, and had had the finest sapphires
in Enlgand stolen from herr
| The handkerchief is large, coarse,
| common one white in color, and of such
Il texture as might be used by a respect
| able artisan on holiday making
| at is clew," says the doctor trium-
| phantly; but Nillicent, though she could
not have put her conviction into words,
! feels that it viii never help to bring the
real offender TO justice.
! but what brought the man here
! that is what want 10 know" demands
Mrs Brand. with little spreading of
her bands, when the doctor has called
some hours later to find his patient has
| been sleeping quietly during his absence,
| and has only reused to consciousness
again upon his entrance,
| 'Not word have let her speak-not
a word, p" says Mrs. Brand with very par
| donable pride, considering the extent OF
| her curiosity.
"Well. I must speak now" murmurs
! Millicent, still very fcehly, but with q
decided increase of strength that the
| doctor finds very satisfactory.
"Why, we shall have her downstairs
| In no time" declares he jovially.
| Then Millicent launches into descrip-
| ton of the man who had thrown a hand
! kerchief over her face and left her to
/ live or die. as chance dictated, while he
made good his escape. 1t is this infor-
| nation that calls forth from Mrs. Brand
| the question as to what brought him into
| her house at all that unseemly midnight
| hour.
''Ah! auntien' says the girl, looking
at her out of her cushioned arm chair,
with great pathetic eyes that have grown
greater because of the regretful tears
that are filling them. ''Do you not
know? Do you not guess? When you
opened my hand, end the sapphire locket
dropped out, did yo1l guess nothing then:h
"No, child-no.'
''That locket is gift to me-
"a gift? / know that impatiently.
"a gift from your Ccnle Timothy, with
all the rest of those very beautiful
stones. A magnificent gift, truly
"No!-a gift from the man who has
stolen all those unrivaled stones."
''Stolen.' Mrs. Brand falls back in her
chair, and gazes at NIillicent with hor-
ror stricken eyes.
What! Gone Those priceless sap
phires." :ries DR.. Thesby, who is an old
friend of Mrs Brands, and had been
shown the sumptuous gift of Timothy
Boyle when first presented to Miss Grey.
"Ah" says Millicent, laughing hyster-
ically, ''the burglar evidently did not
think them, as you do, priceless. No
doubt he is already pricing them--is ar
ranging how TO break them up and sell
them-breaking Observation-Disclosures
let-my beautiful Here, being still
very weak, she gives up her mournful de-
scription, and subsidies into storm of
tears.
"There, there, darling. Oh, don't cry
like thatl Think of your weak state. But
what an audacious thingl Bless me,
what will your uncle say? Now, my
dearest love, | implore you to control
yourself. Remember how that unmiti-
gated villain nearly deprived you of your
life only few short hours ago. In this
very chamber, DR.. Thesby. Oh! to think
of it! 1t must have almost happened on
this very spot'n Here she grows tragic,
and speaks in deep bass tone that she
believes DtiltS tuS OCCdSlOIl. vi!
cent, darling. you will break my heart
your old auntie's heart-if you keep on
sobbipg like that. Dear. dear! dear! to
think that those apphires-heirlooms
doctor-and the finest in England-in-
deed, in Europe, might safely say
are now being melted down-that is,
broken up, or whatever it is those terrible
men do to thern-while we are sitting in
active { ere. Can nothing be done? Oh!
doctor DIR. Thesby! What is the mat
Ter with her now?-has that wretch sue
ceeded in killing her after all?'
Millicent, in tact, driven to despair by
This prolonged lament, has gone into vio-
lent Mysteries.
EtNo mann, he hasn't, )" says the doc
tor, with severe meaning, who had tried
70 stem the flow OF Mrs. Brands elo-
auence, eagerly but Intellectually, during
the past five minutes.
To be continued.